Infants have been cared for and protected in innumerable ways over the millennia. Many methods, such as swaddling, where bands of cloth are used to wrap infants, or various slings, carriers or other devices are also used to protect infants from the elements, maintain closeness with their mother, permit their mother to work or travel with her hands free are among the many functions of these devices. While there are many benefits from using these devices they also have some disadvantages. For example the centuries old art of swaddling, which entails laying an infant onto a blanket fabricated from soft material and wrapping the infant therein by means of a series of blanket folds, wraps and tucks, has proven to be less desired in that it presents a somewhat bulky package and fails to provide adequate head and neck support for the infant. Furthermore, the infant is often able to kick out of a traditional swaddle. The other devices, while they also have substantial utility, do not focus on certain aspects of parent-child interactions that have been found to have significant benefits to the development of children.
Research into the effects of interactions between infants and their caregivers has demonstrated that certain forms of interaction, including play, provides an environment that has significant benefits to facilitate social, language, and large and small motor development. (www.americanpregnancy.org/firstyearoflife/firstyeardevelopment.html) These skills are achieved normally by infants in their first year and are followed by observing the infant's achieving various developmental milestones. (www.americanpregnancy.org/firstyearoflife/firstyeardevelopment.html and www.babycentercom/0_milestone-chart-1-to-6-months—1496585.bc) The development of these skills are observed and monitored by caregivers to see if development is occurring in the usual time frame. Substantial benefits have been attributed to increased interaction between infants and their caregivers, including achievement of these developmental milestones, long term benefits involving development of social skills and the benefit of close observation in early detection of hearing or vision problems or problems with large motor development. (www.parentsconnect.com/parenting-your-kids/baby/health/determining_baby_vision_concern.html Dr. Richard W. Hertle)
Many of the interactions between an infant and a caregiver are most beneficial if they face each other and can see each others face. (Stages of infant development, as illustrated by responses to the peek-aboo game, By Patrice Marie Miller and Michael Lamport Commons, Behavioral Development Bulletin, Spring 2007, Early cortical specialization for face-to-face communication in human infants, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 22 Dec. 2008 vol. 275 no. 1653 2803-2811, and Peekaboo A New Look at Infants' Perception of Emotional Expressions By; Diane P. F. Montague and Arlene S. Walker-Andrews, Developmental Psychology November 2001 Vol. 37, No. 6, 826-838). While many of the slings or other devices hold an infant close to the caregiver most do not facilitate face to face eye contact because of their configuration. There are also devices that can be used to hold an infant such as swings, strollers, care seats or other devices to support and constrain an infant but all of these devices interpose a physical separation between the infant and the caregiver.